Sunday, October 27, 2013

Yes, the 26" wheel is not dead and here's the second frame of this type I have built in the last few weeks.

There are a couple of newer features here-the most obvious is the tapered steerer steel fork. This is the first one I have made and I'm sure not the last. Paragon Machine works makes the steerer and it streamlines the build process of the fork a little.

Like all the other MTB frames I build this one has the wishbone seatstay and the headtube gusset.

Here's a view of the fork by itself. It isn't the lightest fork but it is a full pound lighter than a Rock Shox Sid XX.

Monday, October 21, 2013

I think this might be the lightest full size road frame I have built out of steel. The rider is 5'4" and maybe 120 lbs. The tubing is True Temper S-3 mixed with Columbus 'Life'.

The combination of a fairly relaxed head angle and the light tubing should make for a pretty forgiving ride, even with the fairly large section down tube. I have built aluminum CX frames that weigh more than this one !

The seatstays are probably the lightest I have welded in quite some time. I was really careful not to blow any holes through them.....it was pretty intense welding but it came out really nice.

Monday, October 7, 2013

This frame is 3 lb. 15 oz. , barely missing the 4 lb. mark. The owner spends more time working on other peoples bikes so I really hope that he gets the chance to ride this racer a bunch during the season.

nothing unusual here, just simple and traditional features for a bike that has little that can go wrong with it. Rim brakes, normal head tube and threaded BB makes for a really versatile setup-a lot of crankset choices that fit. The steel fork is similar specs to a carbon fork but with a few MM's less rake so it will carve instead of skid. -Just my 2 cents. The tubing is True temper OX and Columbus rear stays.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

This local Bay area rider had me build something I have not built for about 20 years-a pre-suspension design MTB frame and fork. Other than the disc brakes , this frame and fork geometry is the same as bikes from back in the day before shock forks and clipless pedals-when people hit the trails wearing jeans and hiking boots.

The mostly True Temper tubing was picked to mimic the diameter and wall thickness of the Tange Prestige tubing of the late '80's to mid '90's. This isn't a nostalgia thing it is to get a specific feel that one no longer finds in modern MTB's. There's nothing wrong with how MTB's have evolved in the last 20-30 years and people can ride all sorts of stuff that seemed impossible years ago. That said, this would be the bike I would choose for riding the local single track - it is a direct product of that kind of riding.